Strong start helps St. Joseph to FCIAC playoff bid

Updated 12:51 am, Wednesday, May 15, 2013

TRUMBULL -- St. Joseph had figured itself out of the mix for the FCIAC boys lacrosse tournament. Then the power-point math presented itself: Beat McMahon on Tuesday at home, and the Cadets were in.

They made it tough on themselves late, but the Cadets pulled it off. They rode a strong defensive start and a solid offensive performance to a 14-11 win over the Senators in what was, in effect, an FCIAC playoff game in the conference regular-season finale.

"We talked about it before the game," St. Joseph coach Joe Izzo said. "We said, `Guys, we originally thought we were out, (but) it comes down to this game. Let's play hard, and at the end of 48 minutes, let's see what happens.'"

Minutes 32-48 got a bit nerve-wracking for the Cadets, but they were well on their way after the first 13. Goalie Mike Braddick made a couple of big saves early, and McMahon turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter as the Cadets took a 6-0 lead 24 seconds into the second quarter.

"A lot (of the turnovers) were unforced," McMahon coach Mike Epstein said. "We got ourselves in a hole. I tell you, they run a nice offense. They got nice looks."

Ryan Corcoran scored six goals and set up two more for the Cadets (9-7, 5-6 FCIAC). If not for McMahon goalie Josh Miller (14 saves), it could've been worse. As it was, the Cadets led 11-3 two minutes into the second half.

"The kids played hard," Izzo said. "Ground balls. We did a good job at the `X' (Fillippo Petrini took faceoffs).

"They executed the game plan very well."

That included something pretty simple: Keep the ball away from the Division I-bound attackmen for McMahon (7-8, 5-6).

"We just really wanted to make sure we kept the ball out of the hands of 37 (Zack Bartolo) and 33 (Drew D'Antonio)," said Cadets senior defender Kurtis Mudre; Zak Psaras and Jorge Yoguez were also tough in St. Joseph's end.

"They're obviously dominant offensive players. The first three quarters, I think we did a really good job of that."

The fourth quarter? Less so, though the game proved to be out of reach. Some communication breakdowns, Mudre thought, allowed the Senators to score six goals, with Bartolo scoring two and assisting on two more. He finished with three and three in all.

"We could've used a couple of more minutes," Epstein said.

The Cadets (9-7, 5-6) wait to see who they'll play in Saturday's FCIAC quarterfinal. The conference qualifies eight teams based on a point system, and Tuesday's win was worth a pivotal 150 points for the Cadets.